Germany undermined the EU-salvation program
German government has undermined its own efforts to save the euro and the EU as a whole, after it negotiated a 6,3% rise in salaries of public-sector workers. Chancellor Angela Merkels team faced a risk of general strike of public workers, after their union, called Verdi, placed an ultimatum and requested a 6,5% rise in salaries. The syndicalists rejected a 3,3% offer from government and insisted on 6,5%. Finally the government accepted 6,3% making itself look funny on a stage of all-EU-wide spending cuts.
Read more...Did Bernanke detonate the markets, or it was the inflation...?
Today a hesitating talk from Bernanke has made most markets to explode, starting a new rally, motivated by inflationary expectations. Bernanke said he is not sure, but maybe he will print some more money to help further the economy that already has given some signals of recovery... At the moment investors heard this, the markets of almost everything skyrocketed, killing irreversibly any hopes of bear-investors.
Read more...$8 per gallon - not just a nightmare
The news that Saudi Arabia is intending to act on oil markets to press the prices down led to a small 1% decrease of the crude-oil-price on Tuesday. On that day came the information that the top oil producer has hired 11 supertankers (2 million barrels each) to transport an extra oil to United States in response to rising oil prices. On the same day the Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that the kingdom was pumping 9,9 million barrels per day - the highest level in decades. He added that they have readiness to supply every request from customers and Saudi Arabia is willing to turn the taps to maximum capacity of 12,5 million barrels per day immediately. Months ago Saudi Arabia announced that it finds $100 per barrel as "ideal" oil-price.
Read more...Is Apple bribing investors?
March 19th was a great day for Wall Street, for technology business, for S&P 500 index and for generally exhausted from uncertainty in this crisis investor. On that day Apple announced it will pay dividends and will buy back some shares in a 3-years operation that will cost billions of dollars.
This generous decision by Tim Cook and his board kicked up all the market and created new hopes for an end of already years long markets confusion. Apple is paying, Apple has big cash, Apple will save the technology and the business at all...
But let's look a little ahead and analyze what is happening, out of emotions...
Is Facebook a bubble?
What do you think about US government bonds? 2% income per year and an absolute guarantee that nominally you will have your money back, as the government can print as much money as it needs. At current moment no more than 1/3 of US bonds are purchased by investors. The rest are bought by FED... Now let's look at Facebook Inc. and its bombastic IPO. According to some unofficial trade practices (shares owned by insiders traded privately out of stock exchange) current value of this company is about $100 billion. But what do we really have for this money?
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